What might have been had Nicky gone from factory Ducati GP to factory Ducati Wsbk. Sigh. I can't watch this shit and not constantly think about Nicky.

Honda's participation in Wsbk is criminal. Fuck Honda.

Congrats to Melandri. Taking that free ride with Ducati was the best decision to revive his career now it's paying off. Though none of these guys should ever ride for free considering how the promoters line their pockets with cash. Dorna is slowly killing Wsbk to make GP 'appear' better, good for them the mechanism of manipulation for GP is swallowed whole by mist of the ignorant gullible and naive spectator masses. Wsbk used to be great, now it's barely compelling to a race fan.

Well done to Ant West, Leandro Mercado and Jake Gagne for trying to advance their careers. They're on shit equipment, but you never know what can happen.

Heart stopping second superbike race! Supersport was good too, even if it was a sprint 9 lap race after the red flag. Gutted for Ant West, let down by a mechanical. Good races overall, Sandro Cortese on podium in his SSP debut .

Pirelli representative said the PI is the most beautiful circuit, but the worst concerning the tires. Johnny Rea had a blister in his tire, others reported vibrations, flat tires, excessive wear on the left side, etc.

Race 2 was quite interesting and had a hell of a finish with Melandri pipping Rea at the line just barely. Chaz Davies looked like he was going to run away with the race till he fucked up at MG. I really think Davies is a guy who can't get out of his own way. He was supposed to mount a challenge last year that never materialized and he was outridden by Marco Melandri this weekend.

Wasn't a fan of the flag-to-flag race since it was too reminiscent of the 2013 GP debacle. But it worked out better than I thought.

The CBR1000RR looked better in Camier's hands but I doubt the bike has improved enough getting away from Phillip Island. Both of the Yamaha R1's looked pretty good as well. We'll see if Melandri can build on the momentum.

Overall it was a good opener with drama and close racing. Hopefully this means it won't be another Kawasaki/Rea romp this year. Another thing I have to say is Rea's late braking into turn 1 was phenomenal. I don't know how he managed to keep the bike on line into the Southern Loop.

Also don't want to forget to mention Xavi Fores' inspired ride to the podium. He rode a great race, but just wasn't able to fend off Rea's slipstream attack.